Welcome to the online version of From the Politics Desk, an evening newsletter that brings you the NBC News Politics team’s latest reporting and analysis from the White House, Capitol Hill and the campaign trail.
In today’s edition, we have an in-depth look at the president’s closing days in office and the legacy he leaves behind. As for the incoming president, the team lays out the key storylines to watch after he is inaugurated on Monday. And now that a ban on TikTok is looming this weekend, some in Washington are changing their tune on the app’s future.
— Adam Wollner
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What we’re watching for in Trump’s first week
We are now less than 72 hours away from Donald Trump taking the oath of office for the second time. Mother Nature is already playing a role: Trump announced that the inauguration ceremony is moving indoors to the Capitol rotunda because of a frigid weather forecast in Washington.
(Side note: The last time the ceremony was held indoors? Ronald Reagan’s second inauguration in 1985, when it was 7 degrees.)
Regardless of where it takes place, Trump will have a lengthy to-do list and series of challenges awaiting him once he’s sworn in as the 47th president.
There’s a lot to sort through, so we asked our NBC News colleagues for what they will be watching for in Trump’s first week back in the White House.
Here’s what they said:
Kelly O’Donnell: For Trump, his return to the presidency offers him a fresh start wrapped in a second term. It will be new and yet familiar, wielding his authority to sign executive orders on a range of core issues involving border security and deportations, while using his pen to issue pardons.
I expect he will use the megaphone of the office to reinforce his view that November’s votes give him a broad mandate. The challenge is that expectations among his supporters are high and outside events like the California fires and overseas conflicts will demand his attention. After years of holding a campaign posture, he faces the day-to-day burden of delivering on promises and needs while responding to crises.
Peter Alexander: Beyond the executive orders and his promise to begin mass deportations on Day One, I’ll be watching Trump’s tone. His Republican National Convention speech last summer began with a unifying message before it quickly degenerated. He’s promised his inaugural address will be unifying as well. But eight years removed from his “American carnage” speech, we’ll get our first taste of his tone minutes after he’s sworn in.
Kristen Welker: I will be watching what happens with the war in Ukraine. One of Trump’s most ambitious campaign promises was that he would end the war in the early days of his administration. He told me in December that he was actively working on that effort. But Trump has more recently said that he thinks six months is a realistic timetable and that it would be inappropriate to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss the issue ahead of his inauguration. So will there be any progress in the first week?
Andrea Mitchell: The Middle East will also be a major foreign policy hot spot in Trump’s first week. One issue is whether the Gaza ceasefire holds, especially because none of the American hostages are scheduled to be released until at least the second week of the agreement. Related to that is whether the U.S. can get the two-monthlong ceasefire in Lebanon extended, since it expires at the end of next week. And Trump will have to decide whether to withdraw U.S. troops from Syria as he has suggested in the past, despite the new threat of an ISIS resurgence there after the collapse of the Assad regime.
Garrett Haake: Trump and congressional Republicans have taken great pains in the new year to always appear to be singing from the same hymnal. But the December debt and spending debacle underscores how fragile the crosstown alliance between GOP-controlled branches really is. Trump’s first week will be well choreographed on Capitol Hill, but for how long can tiny majorities withstand the tension between Trump’s expensive promises, rising debt and vows to cut costs via outside muscle from DOGE? And what will Trump do when these priorities all begin to come into conflict?
Vaughn Hillyard: Speaking of DOGE, Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, has struck a uniquely powerful relationship with the incoming president — one that Trump has historically been uncomfortable with his closest aides or Cabinet members (or even vice president) taking up themselves.
Are his grand plans to upend the machinations of governance in Washington able to be realized? He has already backpedaled on his promise to cut one-third of the annual federal budget, and consequential restructuring of federal departments and agencies is going to require significant buy-in from lawmakers. Is this a power dynamic that can create lasting change, or will the pressures of the promises made lead this relationship to fracture?
🗣️What swing voters are saying: We also spoke to 18 voters who didn’t back Trump in 2020 but did last November. They are largely hopeful about the next administration, though some are skeptical he can fulfill his promises. Read more →
Supreme Court’s ruling causes some leaders in Washington to backpedal on TikTok ban
By Scott Wong and Sahil Kapur
In the middle of a fiercely fought presidential campaign last year, Democratic and Republican lawmakers banded together to pass a bill that could lead to the ban of the popular social media app TikTok in the United States. President Joe Biden signed it into law with little objection.
Now, with the Supreme Court’s ruling upholding that law Friday and the TikTok ban set to go into effect Sunday, neither party wants to take credit for that bipartisan legislative win.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said that implementation of the TikTok law “simply must fall to the next administration.” And congressional leaders who championed the law are now shying away from calling for the ban to begin Sunday. Instead, they said they want to see a delay to allow TikTok’s Chinese parent company, ByteDance, more time to sell the app to a U.S. buyer.
“We know a lot of things are up in the air, with the TikTok ban scheduled to go into effect this weekend,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said Friday before the court’s decision.
“But everyone — the Biden administration, the incoming Trump administration, even the Supreme Court — should continue working to find a way [to get] an American buyer for TikTok, so we can both free the app from any influence and control from the Chinese Communist Party, and keep TikTok going, which will preserve the jobs of millions of creators.”
During his first term as president, Trump attempted to ban TikTok over national security concerns. But last month, he said he now has a “warm spot” for TikTok, met with its CEO, Shou Chew — whom he has invited to his inauguration — and he had called on the Supreme Court to halt implementation of the TikTok ban as he tries to negotiate a deal.
In a Truth Social post Friday, Trump said that TikTok was one of the topics he discussed with Chinese President Xi Jinping in a phone call earlier in the day.
Read more from Scott and Sahil →
After 5 decades in public life, Biden’s career reaches an inglorious coda
Natasha Korecki, Carol E. Lee and Jonathan Allen have a must-read dive into President Joe Biden’s final weeks in the White House. He initially ascended to the office with a pledge to unite the country, strengthen his party and defend democracy. But he leaves it with a nation divided, a party in tatters and the American people questioning the self-described institutionalist’s respect for the rule of law.
Here are some of the highlights:
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After the November election, Biden privately mused about the idea of pardoning Donald Trump as a magnanimous move, according to a person directly familiar with his comments, though it’s not clear he seriously considered it.
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Biden plans to write another book.
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Biden does not plan to hold the traditional final formal news conference.
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In the White House, the mood feels “like a morgue,” according to a person who recently met with officials there. Privately, Biden has vacillated from feeling melancholy to resigned to angry to wistful as he reflects on his legacy, two people close to him said.
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Biden hasn’t spoken in months to Anita Dunn, a former top adviser, according to multiple people familiar with the dynamic. Biden’s relationship with Bob Bauer, his longtime personal lawyer who is married to Dunn, also has deteriorated. Bauer will no longer represent Biden once he leaves office, three people familiar with the decision said.
Read the full story →
More on Biden’s last days in office:
🗞️ Today’s top stories
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🎤Another day, another confirmation hearing: South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, Trump’s pick to lead the Department of Homeland Security, faced questions from senators about the president-elect’s planned border and immigration crackdown and whether she would allow politics to influence federal disaster relief efforts. Read more →
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↪️ A diplomatic workaround: After sparring with the State Department in his first term, Trump may have come up with a way to circumvent the diplomatic corps, empowering a series of special envoys whose main responsibilities are whatever missions he gives them to carry out. Read more →
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🤝 Promoted: Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine has appointed his lieutenant governor, Jon Husted, to the Senate seat recently vacated by Vice President-elect JD Vance. The move also eases the path for Vivek Ramaswamy to potentially run for governor of Ohio in 2026. Read more →
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➡️ Picking battles: Rep. Sarah McBride, D-Del., the first openly transgender member of Congress, said she remains focused on her job, refusing to take the “bait” from Republicans over a policy that bars her from women’s restrooms in the House. Read more →
That’s all From the Politics Desk for now. Today’s newsletter was compiled by Adam Wollner and Faith Wardwell.
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